- Teves family of Harrow and Chittle family of Essex County will film soon -
by Sylene Argent
Early last week, the Teves family of Harrow and the Chittle family of Essex County were both notified they passed their auditions and were invited to participate in upcoming episodes of Family Feud Canada.
Both teams have made it onto the show and will film their episodes within the next few weeks.
Over 2,000 families from across the nation applied to compete in the show, and 650 families were invited to audition virtually for the show’s second season. During season two of Family Feud Canada, around 130 families will compete on air during a stretch of 104 episodes.
Nancy Teves explained she got the call last week. The ordeal began with a call from Toronto, so she answered the phone, hoping it was the show’s producers with great news. She then found out it was a duct cleaning service instead. Disappointed, she hung up the phone.
An hour later, when her phone rang again, with another Toronto number, she was hesitant to guess who was on the other end of the line, but she was soon jumping for joy to learn this phone call was the one she and her teammates had been waiting for, for quite some time.
“I yelled, ‘Oh my God,’” Nancy said when she learned one of the show’s producers was on the other end of the line. She was excited to pass along the nod of approval to her teammates, adding the show’s producers noted they loved the Teves family’s online presence on social media. While going through the audition process, team Teves posted a few hilarious videos, including one with a “Wizard of Oz” theme, to capture the show’s attention.
Bella Silva-Cacilhas said it was exciting to see the show’s producers watching their online presence and much as they were watching theirs. Family Feud Canada, she added, often shared their posts.
Jaycee Teves said she and her teammates are a little nervous to perform on the show, but, overall, they are just excited for the once in a lifetime opportunity.
This local team, Mike Teves said, will not be unprepared for the show. They have been prepping by playing the Canadian version of the show’s board game, and he has been watching the show, using his couch’s armrest as the buzzer.
“We talk every day,” Silva-Cacilhas added. “Everyone has a different strength.”
Zelia Abdulkader noted she and her teammates have been surprised by the overwhelming response and show of support from the community, as members of team Teves goes after their dream of getting on the show. The support has kept her and her teammates motivated in times of doubt.
“Honestly, it feels like Harrow is one, big family,” she said, with Silva-Cacilhas adding the support has even come from people with the same last name from different areas of the world, and from individuals in other countries, like Australia and the US, with inquiries of where they can watch their episode.
Nancy believes the support was due to her teammates’ authenticity, and embodying the vibe of that family next door that is approachable and fun to be around.
“One of us says something, and the other four clowns chime in,” she joked. “We will be making memories.”
For more information, or to show support, visit, https://www.facebook.com/familyfeudteves/ or @familyfeudteves on Instagram.
Just like the Teves family, the local Chittle family has also been accepted as contenders on Family Feud Canada.
The Chittle Family consists of Heather Richardson and her husband, Scott, of Essex, Heather’s mom and dad, Rick and Juanita Chittle, and her aunt, Jeanine Pitre, of Tecumseh. After this group participated in their second and final Family Feud Canada audition, Heather walked away from that online meeting feeling pretty good. So, she was relieved and excited to have recently receive the news they would be featured on the show.
“It’s crazy,” Heather said of being accepted as one of the competing families, adding when she saw the call for auditions on social media, she filled out an application to see what would come of it. “I didn’t expect them to get back to us.”
When she received a call recently, confirming her team would be on the show, “I said, ‘Oh my God, finally!’ This news was as big as a wedding or engagement announcement.”
She broke the news to her family members, which her daughter captured in a video. She gathered everyone at her parents’ house under the guise of wanting to take a few pictures. Her teammates wondered why she wanted to do that.
When she had everyone sitting around the table, she told everyone she was going to do a video, and her daughter started recording. That’s when Heather announced her family would see everyone live from the show. “They all look at me like ‘what?’” she said. Once the news sunk in, they all reacted excitedly.
Heather and her family members are now working with the show’s producers to prepare for the show. “I’m not nervous right now, but once I’m on the stage, it might hit,” she said, noting she and her teammates are practicing. Currently, they are also arranging their wardrobes.
As a baker, Heather said she plans to bring those who work on the show an assortment of flavoured cupcakes, some with the Family Feud logo.
Heather plans to keep everyone posted about the journey via social media. In the meantime, she and her teammates will be practicing.
With the pandemic going on, she said it is nice to have something exciting going on.
Season two of Family Feud Canada premieres Monday, October 12 on CBC and CBC Gem. It will air four nights a week, from Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm.
Families are competing for a $10,000 prize each night, and can stay on for up to three episodes in a row, if they win.